And The Sky Broke Loose

Love is Bitter, Revenge is Sweet

“I must warn you beforehand that whatever you say right now may be used against you in the court. Now, go ahead and Tell Tale.”

“It’s Best Kept Secret”

“Speak, or else you get A Quiver Full of Arrows into each organ of yours”

“I understand, inspector. It is an Honour Among Thieves to have a chance to speak in front of you. Now that you have finally given me a chance to speak, I must continue and give the proof of my innocence.”

“No, you shall not, Cherry, or else you may not live the next second through. All you will utter is what happened that day. Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.”

“As you wish, inspector. What month is it?”

“October”

“It Can’t Be October Already!”

“It is October”

“I see. So around two months back, all this started. Willy Waters was my love. And another man, Karg Jenner. And me. And a triangle. Of love. It was A Matter of Honour. The honour of the word, the feeling, the everything, Love. The Love. Deeper than the Mariana, higher than the skies, and Mightier Than the Sword. Willy Waters loved me. And I loved him so. For each other, we were the First Among Equals. But then was rusty old Karg Jenner, trying to meddle in people’s lives after losing his own. No, he was very much alive, but had lost his love. He had two, by the way- me, and the one he almost married. Had it not been for her untimely death, he wouldn’t have done such a thing, and neither would I be here. We were close friends at college, were me and Karg. But not everyone who is a close friend of yours is your love, right? He loved me, but I loved Willy. And when he came to know this after his fiancée’s untimely departure, he swore upon a path of revenge, not towards me solely, but Willy too. He intended to destroy both of us and throw our ashes into the flames, and said that even those ashes would burn. He thought this was the amount of hatred we carried in us for him. Little did he know that it was only me who carried it. Willy didn’t even know who he was. Even the ashes of my burning ashes would have burnt, if hatred was combustible.

He threatened me that if I didn’t leave Willy and marry him, he would kill both of us. If I did, he’d kill only Willy. Now it was upon me to save Willy’s life along with mine from that maniac Jenner, although after I look back now, I would be justified in calling myself one too.

I decided on a sly plot to deceive and kill Jenner with my own hands without Willy knowing anything about it. A couple of weeks later, after devising a simple yet elegant plan of Twelve Red Herrings, I called Jenner up, and said

‘Hey Karg, my darling. You want me?’

‘More than anything’

‘Be Careful What You Wish For’

‘I wish for you’

‘Then Cometh The Hour. Meet me tomorrow at seven in the mall near your place’

‘Darling, why not today?’

‘Rather not’

‘Then have a toss. I take heads.

A plan edged into my mind. Why wait for tomorrow to have the satisfaction to stab him with an obsidian knife?

‘Heads You Win’

‘So today, at seven’

And I hung up. I went to the mall with the knife skillfully concealed in my hand under a patch of false skin. I reached there around five minutes late, and waited for Jenner to come. I waited till the half past mark, but he didn’t come. I called him up, and asked him where he was, but only to hear that he had come before me, and not seeing me, left. He sure was one of the few Sons of Fortune to have his life saved. But not for long.

Over the next two or three weeks, I was desperate to meet him. Every day I used to conceal the knife so very skillfully, only to remove it at night after being unable to meet. All this while, Willy had noticed my impatient behavior and asked me what the matter was. I hesitated, but soon replied that he was under a False Impression that I was desperate to do something. Sure enough my hands were itching to drag that knife handle deep multiple times into Karg, but I controlled the temptation and waited like a lioness under the cover of grass about to attack a nearby wandering deer who has challenged the Queen to take over all the Paths of Glory.

Is wasn’t long before I met up with Jenner. I had fixed the date and the time of the death date such that I would be able to sneak out of the house in Willy’s absence. When Karg and I finally met, we went into a lush restaurant-cum-bar and I made it a point to occupy a corner table. It is pretty amazing how fast the human brain works when it ardently desires something. Within the time that Karg shouted for the waiter after sitting down, I had revised my complete plan.

I intended to make Jenner drink till his bladder was full, and send him off to the washroom. During the time he was in there - assuming that would be enough since he would be half-mad with dopamine that time - I would take out the concealed knife out of my hand, and have it in a ready-to-stab position. As soon as he would return to his original seat, he would have it. Straight in the heart. And over the restaurant’s chitter-chatter, it wouldn’t be more audible than a mosquito buzzing its life off twenty feet away. I would just get up and leave, and among all the hustle-bustle, no one would ever know. Especially since I’d be using a kerchief to grip the handle. No fingerprinting business for me. I would be caught if his body was seen within the next few seconds by someone in their senses. Anyways, the kill was worth the risk.

When the waiter arrived, I ordered one bottle of wine for me, and one of rectified spirit for Jenner. Karg looked at me in a very surprised way. Although he tried to conceal it beneath his pretense of romantic-looking facial feature, it was certainly detectable that he was confused as to why me, a non-alcoholic ordered a bottle of wine, and moreover, rectified spirit. I had read the expression pretty well, and smiled a concealed, satisfied smile. And slowly he drank, and so I pretended to accompany him, while the actual reason of the disappearance of the wine from my glass was the soil of the potted plant next to me. But he drank the spirit, and within the first four to five sips, he was down. Off he rushed to the washroom, having lost all his senses. I prepared myself for the kill. I had it all ready, but unfortunately, it wasn’t written in Karg’s fate to be killed by me. He didn’t return from the washroom, and I thought that since he was so full and drunk, he might have lost his way. I waited for him to come.

But there was A Twist in the Tale , for immediately after, I saw Willy come into the restaurant with another lady, hand in hand, beaming as if she was his fiancée and after having her sit down on a table in the opposite corner, went off to the washroom. It turned out that Jenner was still in the washroom. Little did he know that he was to meet his death at the same instant, in the same room as his maniacal lover’s maniacal lover. As the Crow Flies, someone dies. Poor Willy entered the fatal bathroom and met his end. His foot found the edge of the trap tile, and out came each and every spike out of the roof, and slit into both their heads like candles into a birthday cake. That was the silent (we know better) end of this love triangle, and of the three corners of it, only one remained. It was The Perfect Murder, had it not been for that criminal who put in that trap tile. I had wanted to kill Jenner with my own hands, but I guess Karma does exist. This Was a Man, who tried to make me cheat on my love, and died. This was another, who cheated on me, and died too. To Cut a Long Story Short, I wish I’d been there earlier. It might have made all the difference. So all I can tell you is why he was murdered. He was murdered because he deserved it.”

“So it... it wasn’t you who put in the trap tile?”

“Obviously not!”

Th..th..then who was it?”

“Only Time Will Tell.”

And Thereby Hangs a Tale.